Cody
by lovinglife27
Summary: Cody made it home safely in the New Prophecy, but something has been nagging her after spending so much time in the wild. Will the comfort from her Twolegs family be enough to keep her tame? Or will the call of the forest claim her and others? R&R!
1. Coming Home

**I got some positive feed-back from my first Warrior fan fiction "Just One Patrol" so I'm doing another, only this one is not a one shot, and I'm very excited about doing it! I've always wondered what happened to my favorite kittypet Cody when she went back to her Twolegs after getting caught and hen staying with ThunderClan for a while. Did she back it back? How did her life change? So I'm doing this! Read ****and Review! Cody POV, because I felt like letting you into her head a bit more.**

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Leaving the things you love behind hurts. Then you meet new people and you find out you love them too, but not enough to replace the ones who held your heart first. When you get the opportunity to go back to the first people who loved you, but leaving the second ones behind, who do you choose?

I chose the first, and now I'm wondering if that was the smartest thing I've ever done.

I'm walking back through the woods, the trees casting shadows all around me, the moon shining innocently above my head. My paws are hitting the ground softly, and I notice how much harder my pads are from spending less time inside the Twolegs kitchen and more time on solid ground. I'm also thinner- the wild cats were struggling for food and barely had enough to feed themselves, let alone me.

The wild cats. ThunderClan.

I shake my head and keep going forward, half-wishing that Leafpaw's amber gaze was still on my tail, hard enough that I'd turn around and join the Clan. She was right all along- the freedom was amazing, almost too amazing to turn down, but my Twolegs need me, and I know them better then I know the forest cats, enough to know how worried they are.

A scent catches my nose, and I sniff the air, narrowing my eyes. ShadowClan territory- Leafpaw told me that I'd have to cross in order to get home, and that these cats aren't welcoming like ThunderClan was. Not that I can blame them; kittypets like me shouldn't be in this forest.

I dig my claws into the soil and then leap forward, barreling into the shrubs and bushes, afraid to slow down, afraid that a forest cat will attack me. The wind whistles in my ears, and the night presses in on my tabby pelt, unfamiliar and dangerous. I push myself harder and almost collide with a Twolegs fence, my claws nearly ripping out as I force them to stop.

"Cody?" A cat leaps up onto the fence, his green eyes wide with disbelief. "Is that you?"

"Peter!" I eagerly scramble up the wood and sit next to the familiar kittypet. "It's me!"

"Everyone said you got caught by the forest cats!" Peter rubs his furry gray face against mine in a friendly way. "Like a _sacrifice_!"

"No, no," I shake my head and Peter takes a step back, the fence rocking slightly at our combined weight. Peter is a purebred Siberian cat, huge and muscular, with long gray fur and a plumy tail, and looks a lot like he jumped right out of a zoo. But he's a big softie, and not very brave at all. He looks a lot like Graystripe, that warrior that was taken, but I keep my mouth shut. "I was taken by some Twolegs."

"Why?" Peter gasps. "I told you not to get rid of your collar and then go running off into the woods! I mean, look at you!" He noses my ribcage worriedly, his own black collar nearly covered by all of his fur. "You're as thin as a twig!"

"They fed me and everything," I insist, looking behind him at the glowing windows of his nest. "But they put me in a small nest with lots of other caged cats. And then…" I blink and look away. "I met Leafpaw."

"Leafpaw?" Peter swishes his tail back and forth. "What an odd name."

"She's a forest cat," I admit. "They earn their names."

Peter's mouth is wide open, and I can see the remains of his last meal in his teeth. "You met a _forest cat_?"

"It's a long story," I mumble. All I want is to go home and eat, and then sleep without having to worry about whether Birchkit will be awake in the morning. "I'll come and tell you tomorrow."

"A lot of other cats are worried about you," Peter says, his green eyes still wide. "I could get a bunch of them and you could tell everyone at once."

"Alright," I sigh. "But not too many. And where would we meet?"

"Right here," Peter mews. "At sunrise."

"Fine," I gather my muscles and leap down. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Peter still sounds awed that I'm still alive. "Bye."

I walk carefully along the fence, avoiding any cats still outside- I really don't want to be held up again- and then I see my familiar nest. Barely containing a yowl of relief, I jump into the garden and take my time padding up the wet grass, sniffing the familiar rose bush, and rubbing my cheeks against the cold birdbath. Then I'm at the back door, and I see that the lights are on upstairs. Taking a deep breath, I nose the cat flap.

It's locked.

Great. I didn't want to be too dramatic, but here goes nothing. I unsheathe my claws and paw at the door, mewing under my breath. I hear a pounding of footsteps from inside, and then the door flies open, and I'm looking into the flat face of my Twolegs. She cries out and picks me up; her hand warm under my belly, and runs her fingers through my course fur. It feels good and I purr loudly, turning my blue eyes to my Twolegs man as he comes though the door of the waterfall room, the gray fur on top of his head wet and a blue blanket wrapped around him.

I'm surrounded by my family, and although they might not be cats, they still love me as much as I love them. I'm passed from warm embrace to warm embrace, receiving tender kisses and exclamations from the kits, and a wonderful scratch behind the ear as I'm given to my favorite Twolegs, the old female with the wrinkled skin and snow white hair and bright blue eyes that look as young as the kits.

I press my paws against her face and purr as she pets my head. I love her so much. I love all five of my Twolegs, but her the most. As I'm taken to the kitchen, I rub against her old hands and suddenly get reminded of the elders in ThunderClan, and a pang of regret goes through me. What ever happened to Goldenflower? And Longtail? I wince as the male Twolegs kit picks me up by the scruff and strokes me a little too hard.

Was all this worth giving up the ThunderClan cat's I'd grown to care about? I look at the adoring faces of my family, and then think of the gaunt but determined faces of the ThunderClan cats.

Did I make the right decision?

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**If you have kittypets at home, I need some names and appearences for some pals of Cody! Peter is my cat- I just had to put him in ;) Don't worry, he's fixed! So yeah, give me some kittypets, and I'll be happy! R&R!**


	2. Hunter

**Thanks for the reviews! I'll try and include as many cats as I can! So now that Cody's back, how are the other kittypets going to react when she tells them about the forest cats? **

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When I wake, it's to the sound of food clattering drily in my familiar metal bowl. Blinking, I look around me, half-expecting to see the make-shift nursery and Birchkit curled up next to me, but I see sunlight streaming through the clear walls in the kitchen, and hear the female Twolegs kit filling my bowl with food. I yawn and she says something softly, patting me on the head before walking away. Getting up from the soft bed is hard- my aching muscles want to stay put a long time- but I leap from the blankets and go over to my bowls.

Did dry food always taste so bad? I wrinkle my nose as I eat- the texture and the flavor of the food are all wrong. Maybe I could catch a mouse or something… no! I'm _not_ a forest cat. Besides, what would the other kittypets think? I grit my teeth and lap up some smelly water, and then pad to the cat flap, nosing it open. I hear my Twolegs women call after me, but I'm afraid that she'll keep me inside, or make me wear a collar, so I jump out of the door and dash across the garden.

"Cody, you're back!" A familiar gray and white cat purrs delightedly and meets me as I leap up onto my fence. "Wow!"

"Sasha!" I swish my tail and touch noses with her. "Good to see you!"

"Peter told a bunch of us to come to his nest," Sasha flicks the tip of her tail happily. "He said that it was important, and about you!"

"Well, yeah, I suppose," I mew slowly. "Where's Sophie?" I peer around the skinny she-cat in search of her usual black and white companion. "Is she coming?"

"No," Sasha rolls her eyes. "She's being lazy- as usual. Says she doesn't want to miss lunch."

"Does that cat ever do anything but eat?" I mutter.

"Oh, guess what?" Sasha draws herself up proudly. "I caught another mouse!"

"That makes three, right?" I nod, distracted. "Did you bring them to your Twole- I mean, housefolk?"

"Yes," Sasha looks confused. "But they didn't seem too happy. My female kit housefolk screamed and ran. Why do you think?"

"I don't know," I shrug. "Housefolk are confusing creatures. They don't seem to listen when you try and train them."

"Hiya, Cody!" A young black she-cat joins us on the fence, blinking large yellow eyes. "Peter and a bunch of other cats are waiting for you!"

"Thanks, Chocolate," I lick her forehead kindly. "I'm coming."

The three of us walk along the fence- I hiss at the pesky neighboring dog as it barks annoyingly.

"I've got this," A tabby with white paws leaps up and growls at the dog. "Scat!"

The little dog whimpers and runs.

"Princess!" I exclaim, suddenly remembering that Firestar and Cloudtail are her kin. "It's me, Cody!"

"Cody?" Princess blinks. "Oh my! Everyone thought you had been taken by the forest cats."

"Sort of," I tell her excitedly. "I met Firestar and Cloudtail, and they said to tell you they send their greetings."

"Cloudtail?" Princess purrs proudly. "You met my son and my brother?"

"Oh yes!" I mew eagerly. "I met almost all of them!"

"What?" Sasha gasps. "You met forest cats and came back alive?"

"Are they alright?" Princess asks me worriedly, ignoring the baffled expressions on Chocolate's and Sasha's faces. "Is Cloudtail getting enough to eat?"

"None of them are," I look at my paws as I remember. "The Twolegs are tearing down their forest… I'm sorry, Princess, but the Clans have had to move."

"Move?" Princess gaps, shocked. "But where?"

"They don't know," I sigh, remembering Leafpaw's sad face. "They're following a sign from their warrior ancestors."

I can tell my words are lost on all three of them. They have no idea that the Clans are kind and brave and care for each other. They aren't evil- they're wild.

"Cody, come on!" Peter pops his furry gray up from a bush. "I've got a bunch of cats waiting."

"I want to hear this," Princess murmurs to herself, following me as I pad after Peter. "My son…"

I emerge from the bushes and stop, surprised. Peter alerted more cats then I thought- even a few rouges are present, eager to hear about the fearsome wild cats of the forest. They're all gathered in the crevice just behind the fence separating the garden from the forest, pelts of every colors, cats of every shape and size. I don't even know half of them. Of course. They aren't here for me- they're only interested in the cats that eat _bones_.

"Hi," I speak up, climbing up onto the fence. The cats quiet and gather below me, whiskers twitching animatedly. "Um, I'm Cody, and it's good to be back. I was exploring the woods one day and I was taken by some Twolegs to a small den in the woods."

"What are Twolegs?" Chocolate asks curiously. "Some kind of monster?"

"Housefolk," I correct myself. "But they weren't nice, and they fed me and the other cat's horrible food and filthy water after stuffing us into tiny cages."

"Who were the other cats?" Hoggie pipes up from the back of the crowd.

"Mostly rouges," I say slowly. "But there were forest cats there too."

The kittypets gasp in unison, while the unnamed rouges glance at each other.

"There were Mistyfoot, Gorsetail, Brightheart, Cloudtail, and Leafpaw," I mew. "They earn their names, to become warriors. Well, Leafpaw is in training to be a medicine cat, the cat that heals injured warriors."

Twenty pairs of confused eyes meet mine.

"Those savages actually have names?" A voice drawls from the back. I make out a pair of gleaming tawny eyes, almost golden, from high in a tree. "I would've thought they called each other by numbers. If they even knew how to talk."

I bristle. The forest cats were some of the smartest cats I ever knew! "And who exactly is speaking?"

A sleek tom jumps down from the tree. His pelt is a tabby gold, but with dark stripes all over him, making him look like a tiger. He's not incredibly large, but muscles ripple under his fur as he walks casually towards me. "My name is Hunter."

"Then you might as well know, Hunter," I narrow my eyes. "That the forest cats are very intelligent indeed." I pause. "More intelligent then _you_ seem to be."

I expect my words to cause him to hesitate, maybe even get him mad, but he just smiles up at me, as if amused by my attempt to scare him. "Then I stand corrected. Forgive me for interrupting- please continue."

I glare at him once more before continuing. "So instead of a bunch of mangy cats running wild, the forest cats live in four Clans; ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan. They follow rules called the warrior code that state the things that they can and cannot do."

"Like what?" A white she-cat named Babe squints up at me.

"Erm," I think for a moment. "Well, medicine cats can't have a mate. You can't trespass on another Clans territory, and elders and queens must be fed before the warriors."

"What do they eat?" Hunter flicks his tail absentmindedly.

"They hunt for food," I say. "They don't rely on housefolk. They consider them enemies. And they call them Twolegs."

"What's an elder?" Hattie asks animatedly.

"They have different ranks," I explain. "The cat in charge is the leader, and his name ends in 'star'. The deputy is second in command. The medicine cat is the healer, and takes care of injured warriors. Warriors hunt and fight for the Clan. Queens are nursing mothers, and elders are retired warriors or medicine cats who are too old to fight or hunt for the Clan. Kits names end in 'kit', and when they turn six moons old they become an apprentice and they train to be a warrior, and the last part of their names is 'paw'. When they become a warrior, their name can be almost anything."

"It sounds complicated," Chocolate murmurs. "I don't think I'd last very long out there."

"But what did you do?" Babe questions. "Once you were trapped?"

"ThunderClan came to rescue their captured warriors, and freed everyone else," I look at my paws. "A brave warrior called Graystripe saved all of us, but he sacrificed his freedom for a bunch of rouges. I was the only kittypet, so I went with Leafpaw and lived with her Clan for a while."

"Was it awful?" Sasha blinks. "You look starved!"

"It was hard," I admit. "The Clan's forest is being torn apart, so their prey is hard to find."

"They ought to find some housefolk," Hoggie mutters. "And save themselves all this trouble."

"Did you meet a cat named Rusty- I mean, Firestar?" A fat black and white cat asks me, pushing his way through the crowd. "The kittypet who joined the forest cats… I mean, the Clans?"

"Smudge!" I nod to him. "Yes I did." I remember how big and fierce the fiery tom looked. "He sure doesn't look like a kittypet anymore."

"You don't sound like a kittypet, the way you talk," Hunter says in that aggravatingly quiet voice of his. "You sound more like a forest cat."

"I left, didn't I?" I'm startled by the accusing tone of his mew. "I missed everyone here, and my housefolk need me."

"Maybe you should have stayed with the wild cats," Hunter narrows his eyes at me. "Maybe you're a danger to us all, now that you've eaten bones and fought other cats."

"I didn't eat bones," I growl as cats look at me in a frightened way. "And I never fought anyone!"

"You've just come straight out of the forest!" Hunter snarls. "How can we trust you?"

I look around at the cats I've grown up with, my friends and my family. They're all looking at me in a strange way. Every positive thing I've told them about the Clans has vanished in their fear of the wild, and now they think I'm part of it, because I lived it for a while. I want to assure them I'm no forest cat. I wouldn't harm a living thing. But I ate mice… and I liked it better then my real food! I want to tell them I'm still Cody, I'm still me, but am I?

What if my time in the forest has changed me? What if I'm not a kittypet anymore?

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**Poor Cody… anyhoo, R&R and I'll be happy and update faster ;) I like Hunter.. I dunno why. He's being an obnoxious idiot, but hey, I think his attitude is _hot_. By the way, I'm trying to convice a friend of mine that Warriors is cool, and he won't read it. What shall I do? I tried hitting over the head withthe book, but that didn't seem to work... any ideas? ;)**


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